April 2016

09/06/2012

The Cost of Beauty: Price, Quality and Finding Treasures

When it comes to how much something costs the standard is
that if it costs more then it will be of better quality. Sometimes that is true and then other
times it is not. For instance, many
times the product you pay more money for is made in the same factory or plant
that another product is made and yet the price tag on the two products is far
from one another. You are paying more
money for the right to buy a particular brand that has spent more money on
marketing and branding rather than the product itself.

Food and beverages are a very clear example of this as there
are very fine cups of coffee to be purchased at places that can compete in
taste and quality with higher cost brand coffee houses but one is more
expensive than the other due to the branding and marketing of one than the
other.

Sometimes you aren’t paying more for branding or marketing
but more for what the owner wants in place for the business. I once walked into a small, quaint, luxury
stationary and card store and could not believe the prices. Sheets of luxury stationary died in soft hues
that made you exhale just looking at them.
They were so relaxing to just look at due to how they were all displayed
beside of their matching envelopes. One
letter written to someone could cost you $5.00 for a few sheets of paper and an
envelope. It was a little more if you
wanted to purchase the carefully color coordinated ink pen in which to write
your words. The experience in the shop
was fantastic and much care had gone into selection of the products and their
display. I must say I felt it was worth
the price tags in that shop especially when compared to the cost of a
pre-printed card from a specialty shop printed on cheap paper with a horrible
verse printed on it. Shopping for a card
for someone is less of a relaxing experience as you choose one card after
another and tuck it back into place because it just isn’t right. Large card stores just don’t offer me the
same experience for similar pricing. I'd rather dump the large card store and walk around admiring things in the stationary store.

In that case you are paying for the environment
in which you purchase as much as the product.
You may do this at cafés, boutiques, jewelry stores, interior design
shops, and salons. Sometimes price has a lot to do with quality and then sometimes you are just paying a lot of money because the business has convinced you that you should pay more to have the privalege of purchasing there and price has very little to do with quality.

There are two pricing rules that everyone has to always be
on the lookout for and that is 1) the product or service that costs less but is
of higher quality (you find these businesses and products and you know you have
a treasure!) and 2) the product or service that costs more and is of lesser
quality (you learn a lesson and avoid in the future).

Everyone has experienced the latter where you pay a lot of
money and you get poor customer service, you are nickeled and dimed to death
for little extras, and the product or service fails to “wow” for the
price. I’ve done it and sometimes I will
give the business one more chance just in case it was “one bad experience” but
other times I just walk away and have buyer’s regret. One such experience was when I needed some
tailoring done to some clothing i had bought. I chose
the higher priced service and hated the results and never liked the clothing. Then I chose a smaller tailoring business ran
by a woman out of her home and found the quality and attention to detail to be
amazing. I almost cried when she moved
away to be closer to family. Those types
of businesses are what I consider treasures. I have been lucky enough to found a few in my days.

I want EBK Beauty to be your "treasure" business. When I opened EBK Beauty the recession was
hitting people hard. I told myself that
I would make the environment as relaxing and friendly as possible without
putting so much money into fixtures or signage that it would mean higher prices
to make ends meet. I worked hard to keep
our expenses down so that we could offer quality service and products without
the need to mark up costs. I wanted a
friendly place where “everyone knows your name” when you walk in and you leave
feeling revived and renewed.

EBK Beauty is the little salon that is the rarity in today’s
world of salons and day spas. We are
small enough to give exceptional customer service and to truly care about our
customers. We are big enough to be able
to offer you highly skilled professionals for outstanding results you will
return to and when you walk out you will feel good about the experience, the
environment, how you look and feel and you will even feel good about what you
paid for it all.

I hope you will give us the opportunity to be your beauty
service provider the next time you want to have your eyebrows threaded, to get
eyelash extensions or a lash lift, or to get hair extensions or a personalized
hair style. If you have been paying lots
of money for mediocre or average service, then it is time to walk away. You now have another choice. Check out our salon services menu and then
make an appointment with us. We can’t
wait to be your Jacksonville Beauty Service Treasure!